Welcome to the
Feast of Lanterns

The 2018 Feast of Lanterns

For all of those who missed the Feast of Lanterns, participated in the Feast, or have never experienced the Feast of
Lanterns - Pacific Grove, CA, we present the HIGH DEFINITION version of the Live Stream of the Opening Ceremonies and the
Pageant.

Entertainment by the Monarch Handbells, Rockstar Dance Studio, the Hootenanny, the 2018 Royal Court and Royal
Guard. Mayor Bill Kampe and Queen Topaz cut celebration cakes as we sing happy birthday to our beloved hometown.
The Hootenanny will lead a hometown sing along as we celebrate the Feast of Lanterns and the Chautauqua Assembly.

Thank You for helping us celebrate the 113th Anniversary of the Feast of Lanterns and the 60th
Anniversary of the Royal Court!

For over one hundred years the citizens of Pacific Grove have celebrated its history and culture with a summer
festival called the Feast of Lanterns. This Festival has evolved over its 100-plus year history from the ceremonial
end to the Chautauqua Assembly with a lantern parade to the beach and fireworks over the bay to a multi-cultural
community event filled with entertainment.

Today, with its traditions intact, it continues to provide family entertainment and educational experiences for
the community it serves, plus scholarships for community-spirited, active middle school and high school students
who are selected each year to reign over the Festival as the Royal Court and Royal Guard.

The Royal Court and Royal Guard are selected from applicants by a committee of local business people, former
Royal Court members, and Board members based on several factors, including academics, community service, extra curricular
school activities and general personal interests. As members of the Royal Court and Royal Guard, the students are
instructed in public speaking and the history and culture of their hometown. They participate in community activities
throughout their year-long reign.

The Feast of Lanterns is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, with an all-volunteer Board of Directors. The
proceeds of the festival each year, minus operating expenses, fund an academic scholarship program for the Royal
Court and Royal Guard.

Calendar of Events

Thank You to Our 2018 Donors and Sponsors!

No one knows who first told the story of the "Blue Willow". Perhaps it was a Chinese storyteller who began telling the
tale of Chang and his love for the beautiful Koong-se, and how they flew away as immortal doves, forever free. The Pacific
Grove version was first told by Pauline Benton of the Red Gate Shadow Players in 1958 at Pacific Grove's Methodist Church
- where the lovers fly away as Monarch Butterflies to return again every fall.

The Story

Long ago in far off Cathay, a land now called China, there lived during the reign of Emperors a wealthy Mandarin
named T'so Ling. His land holdings were vast and fertile, and his treasures beyond counting. His palace was built
of fine woods and rich lacquers with a roof of blue tile that gleamed in the sun, and a handmade fence that ran
below the palace. Behind the palace grew an orange tree, and beside the palace ran a river with a graceful willow
that gave shade in the heat of the day.

Of all T'so Ling's possessions, his beautiful Princess daughters with their jewel names were his greatest joy.
Princess Emerald, Princess Turquoise, Princess Tourmaline and Princess Amethyst. The Mandarin delighted most in
his eldest daughter, Koong-se, who he named Queen Topaz, so named for the golden lights that danced in her eyes.
This means that she is enlightened and the hero of our story. Topaz passed her days in a summerhouse that leaned
over the rippling water, where she did elegant embroidery on silk while listening to tales of old Cathay as told
by her faithful nurse, Chun Soy.

T'so Ling thought Topaz so lovely that he wished to crown her as Queen. A coronation ceremony was planned, and
all the princes, potentates, maharajahs and lords of the realm were invited to attend the coronation. One of the
old mandarins named Ta-Jin brought a chest of gold so impressive that T'so Ling thought this rich man would make
a fine husband for his daughter Topaz. T'so Ling made plans to combine the coronation with a marriage feast.

Topaz heard this news and became quite despondent, for she had fallen in love
with a young scholar named Chang. Hearing of this, T'so Ling forbade his daughter to marry Scholar Chang. Topaz
is heartbroken. One day she is kneeling by the water near the summer house when she sees a coconut shell. In the
shell is a note from Scholar Chang and she is so excited that she writes to him, asking him to rescue her from the
wedding.

Scholar Chang sneaks into the palace on the night of the coronation with the help of the Royal Guard and rescues
his beloved. The old nurse discovers the lovers and warns the Mandarin. He chases the young lovers, but they escape.
T'so Ling alerted the villagers to search for Topaz and Chang with lighted boats and lanterns. He also orders the
great torii gates to be lighted. He wants to find his beautiful daughter Koong-se. All this time the Goddess Guan
Yin, has been watching the Topaz and Chang. She is moved by their love. Guan Yin, is “she who hears the cries of
the world.” She is the Goddess of Compassion. She decides to transform the lovers, so they might be free.

In a final burst of lights, Topaz and Chang are illuminated as they changed into Monarch butterflies and escaped
into the sky. The lovers return every year to the place where they fell in love. They are lost in the sea of Monarchs
so that the Mandarin may never find them.

The pageant, which takes place on the last night of the Festival, tells the story in pantomime and ends with a burst
of fireworks overhead as the lovers are seen for a brief moment departing in the guise of Monarch butterflies. Queen Topaz
is free to spend eternity with her chosen beloved Scholar Chang.